Apple to Own One Third of Connected TV Players in 2011

Strategy Analytics expects a smart TV from Apple in 2012

Apple TV set-top box

A study by Strategy Analytics says that 8 percent of US households own a connected (Internet-enabled) TV player. By year’s end, Apple will have owned 32 percent of that market, according to the market intelligence firm.

Strategy Analytics, a company that provides timely and actionable market intelligence with a focus on opportunities and disruptive forces, acknowledges that Apple has become the leader of the pack in the rapidly growing connected TV player market, despite labeling its own Apple TV product as a 'hobby'.

According to the latest research from the Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices service, global sales of connected TV players will more than double in 2011, compared to 2010.

Connected TVs are also known as video streaming or internet TV set-top-boxes.

“Strategy Analytics projects that the market will reach almost 12 million units globally this year, with Apple alone predicted to sell nearly four million devices,” reads the report.

They conducted an online survey (the 2011 ConsumerMetrix Survey) fielded in July 2011 with a sample consisting of n=2000 individuals in the US and n=2801 in Europe ages 15-74 years.

What they found was that although TV players are yet to gain mainstream attention, there’s an increasing number of people buying them.

The reason? Strategy Analytics believes it’s because they offer one of the easiest ways to get Internet content onto the big screen.

“The lower price points of the second generation Apple TV and Roku Box have made them more affordable and compelling to consumers. More than 8 percent of US households now own a connected TV player, compared to 7 percent of European households,” said the firm.

While they were at it, Strategy Analytics decided to look at how much money Apple is going to make off its ‘hobby’ this year. And the results were not surprising at all, considering how the Cupertino giant rolls.

According to the analysts, “Apple TV users are spending more money on movies and TV shows: 30 percent of Apple TV owners rented movies or TV shows, compared to 20 percent of users of other devices.”

“Apple is leading this nascent market, which it still considers a ‘hobby’”, said Jia Wu, Senior Analyst at the Connected Home Devices (CHD) service. “As Apple prepares for its expected launch of smart TVs in 2012, rival platforms must accelerate their development plans to keep Apple from running away with the connected TV business, as it has done in smartphones and digital music.”